Timed Actions

A timed action is a special type of action that can only be run at pre-configured
time. Timed actions are used by Ooyala Flex to carry out work at regular intervals.
Timed actions are not run within Workflows or from the asset toolbar. Instead, once
configured and started, Ooyala Flex's internal job scheduler runs the action at the
intervals specified. Such as actions can still be viewed from the Job
Dashboard, Jobs Search, and Job Details screens. Timed actions
are run as jobs.

There are two types of actions available in Ooyala Flex's various toolbars:

• Synchronous: These are actions that run immediately.

• Asynchronous: These run a background job against a Ooyala Flex action.

Background jobs are used to run long-running work in the background. Typically any
actions related to assets (transcode, export, and so on) result in the creation of a
background job. When this type of action is selected, the user will be directed to a
pop-up where they can schedule and configure their job. Once scheduled, the newly
created job can be monitored via the Jobs tab.

Timed Action Object Properties

Property

Support

Explanation

Scope

Account

The scoping of this object

Visibility

Whether the object supports visibility

Plugins

Supports plugins

Extended Config.

Whether the object has an extended configuration tab

Scripting

Whether the object can be configured using scripting

Enable / Disable

Whether the object can be enabled and disabled

Start / Stop

Whether the object can be started and stopped

Copy

Whether the object can be copied

Export / Import

Whether the object can be exported and imported

Delete

Whether the object can be deleted

Unique Name

Whether the object name must be unique within its scope

Variants

Whether the object supports variants

Creating a New Timed Action

1) On the toolbar, click the New option.

2) From the drop down, select Timed Action.

3) In the Create newTimed Action section, fill in the relevant details such as a name, plugin
(e.g HTTP Timed Message), interval, and so on. If you wanted the action to run once
every day, you would select the Daily option from the Interval drop
down. In this example we will create a HTTP message timed action, so we will select
the timed HTTP message plugin. With this plugin, you can create a timed action that
sends out a message if a certain event occurs. For example, you could create a timed
action that sends out a message to a specific user if there are failed workflows.

4) Once you've created your timed action, click the Configuration tab, and
then click the Edit link in order to define the values that you wish to
assign to your new timed action.

5) In this example you will see the configuration options specific to the HTTP timed
message action. The configuration options will differ depending on which plugin you
select. So for the HTTP timed message action, you will see fields for URL, Request
Type, Headers, and so on, in the HTTP Request Message section. Some
timed actions do not support configuration.

Once you have entered the configuration details for your timed action, click
Save to finalise.